Way back in the 20th century when life was simple, my wife and I lived in Carpinteria, Calif.,
swooping in and out of Santa Barbara without a second thought. Nowadays, returning as Angelenos
with a 9-year-old, we have second and third thoughts as we consider cost, balance kid stuff and
adult stuff, and consult the school calendar.

But we managed a great visit a few months ago, thanks to a hotel that gave us creature comforts
and walking access to great food, historic atmosphere and the beach.

• The tab: $339 (before taxes) for a night at the Spanish Garden Inn; $53 for lunch at Anchor
Woodfire Kitchen; $157 for dinner at Julienne; $28 for a one-hour surrey rental; $10 to visit El
Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park; and $1.64 on Stearns Wharf for a
how-to-draw-sea-critters book that yielded hours of fun.

• The bed: The citizen-critics of TripAdvisor lavish so much love on the Spanish Garden Inn (915
Garden St.; 805-564-4700,
www.spanishgardeninn.com) that I was suspicious. But
the 23-room inn — built in 2002 with parking below and Spanish flourishes above — is the real deal,
with great service, a handsome courtyard and a kiva fireplace in our room. The price seemed steep,
but parking and Wi-Fi were free, as was the excellent buffet breakfast.

• The meal: After a sunset stroll on Stearns Wharf, we ducked into busy, sophisticated Julienne
(138 E. Canon Perdido St.; 805-845-6488,
www.restaurantjulienne.com) for more great service
and a thoughtful menu. (Instead of Coca-Cola from a U.S. bottler, it carries the Mexican variety,
which has no high-fructose corn syrup.) Counting my top sirloin (with urchin), my wife’s ravioli
and our daughter’s trout, the kitchen hit three home runs, then gave us homemade churros for
dessert.

• The find: Between the beach and U.S. 101 lies the Funk Zone, an old industrial neighborhood
now peppered with wine-tasting rooms and galleries. (Details:
www.urbanwinetrailsb.com.) After a beach-side surrey
ride, we fell in briefly with a rambunctious crowd at the Oreana Winery & Marketplace (205
Anacapa St., 805-962-5857), which had not only live music and wine on the patio but also 25-cent
gum balls. We liked the contemporary art displays at the 41-room Hotel Indigo (121 State St.;
805-966-6586) and detected a hint of anise in the ketchup (that’s a good thing) at the Anchor
Woodfire Kitchen (119 State St.; 805-845-0989,
www.anchorwoodfirekitchen.com). Tasty house-made
sausage, too.

• The lesson learned: There’s more to California history than missions, such as the presidios
that protected the missions. El Presidio de Santa Barbara, founded in 1782 and now a state historic
park, stands just a few blocks from the Spanish Garden Inn. We roamed the mostly reconstructed site
and whispered in the chapel.